The Hot List: November 2002

Mountain Town Mouths
Wanted: Hardcore local skiers with solid communication skills for employment at one of the increasing number of hip ski-town PR firms specializing in outdoor sports. In recent years, more companies are moving their business from Madison Avenue to the mountains. Cheesy references to “extreme shredding” in press releases have been replaced by backcountry ski junkets and SWAG testing. Current hot shops include Stanwood & Partners in Jackson Hole, Backbone Media near Aspen, and Fuse Marketing in Burlington, Vermont.

Ride On
From Stowe to Crested Butte, locals won’t be caught dead cruising to the coffee shop on a new $2,000 mountain bike (which they have) or the latest $1,500 road bike (which they also have). Instead, everyone’s posing ghetto on old townie bikes with the biggest seat, bars, and tires around. Suddenly, titanium is passé and everyone’s looking for 30-year-old Schwinns.

Cigarette Lighter Use #76
This is your morning: Pull into parking lot. Yank on socks. Pretzel your ankles, groan, and jam feet into boots as hard and cold as the ice you’re standing on. This is your morning with Tecnica’s custom HotForm liners: Plug boots into cigarette lighter with car adapter. Drive to mountain. Mistake shells for slippers.
HotForm liners $100, car adapter $18; tecnicausa.com

Surround Sound
Jackets with special cell phone pockets. Jackets with cuff goggle-squeegees and hidden hydration systems. Everyone’s going Bond, but no one does it better than Burton. The Analog Clone MD doesn’t just have a built-in sound system-it actually lets you control your tunes with a keypad integrated into the sleeve. No wires. No fumbling with your gloves to turn up the volume. But only if you can find one (only 100 are being produced) and afford one (it runs one buck short of a grand). burton.com

Eau de Snow
Unexpected as a shiver. Passionate as an embrace. We’ve all been waiting for a fragrance inspired by the winter season, and now we finally have it: Bvlgari Absolute Blv-which is apparently “just like a burning flame within a heart of ice.” We bet it makes great goggle-lens cleaner. $55; bulgari.com